Prophecies and Meanings
by Kaylie Star
Summary: In this story Alex finds out that she's not Jerry and Theresa's real daughter and prophecies have actually led her to be a part of their family. However, she doesn't feel that they have it figured out right, because she still feels out of place. JALEX
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One Alex Learns the Truth

"What do you mean, I'm not your real daughter?" Alex asked in astonishment.

"Oh, mija," Theresa Russo began, but Alex cut her off.

"Don't call me that. Don't call me mija. That's not what I am. Now, thanks to this I don't know who I am."

"Alex, I know that this is a lot to take in, but we do love you as if you are our daughter."

"That's the problem, dad, Jerry, whatever I'm supposed to call you. You love me as if I'm your daughter but I'm not. Why did you wait until now to tell me and who are my real parents?"

Jerry looked over to Theresa for some kind of help. He found none. Instead, she was crying into a hand full of tissues, surely still hurting from Alex telling her not to call her mija, the term of endearment she had picked out for her the moment she saw Alex's big brown eyes.

"Honey, I can explain all those things to you, If you will calm down and just give me the chance."

Alex took a deep breath. She wasn't known for being patient, nor was she known for allowing people to hurt her and then hanging around for them to tell her why. At eight years old she was very stubborn and very head strong. This time, though she decided to listen to the two people she had believed to be her parents.

"Okay, so talk." Alex said sternly.

Jerry couldn't believe the strength behind this little girl. A part of him wished that he never had to tell her the truth about not being his daughter. She was everything he would've wanted in a daughter. However, that was where he knew that he had to accept that this day would come. Of course, none of them thought it would come this early in her life.

"Alex, it's hard to explain. If you have any questions along the way feel free to jump in and ask them, okay."

"Harder than the day you explained to Justin and I that we were wizards?" she asked in a curious tone, anger still underlying it.

"Yes. You see Alex, in the Wizard World, as you know, there are rules and laws just like here in the mortal world. They have their own council, the Wizard council, that determines what the laws are and how the people who break them should be handled."

"Jerry, is this a lesson, or are you going to get around to why I'm not who I thought I was?"

Jerry cringed at her using his first name. He had called her daddy for so long that it just didn't feel right for her to call him anything else. "_I suppose I should have seen this coming as well though."_ He thought to himself.

"Alex, your real parents, were wizards. Karmine and Xander . They were very powerful , clever wizards. I even studied with them at WizTec. Everyone thought they were destined for greatness, even Professor Crumbs. Then they started changing. They had once been sweet and what the mortal world would refer to as the "All-American" couple. Then, things became very different. They stopped coming to school functions and started spending a lot more time alone. At graduation, Xander, your father was asked to give a speech and he refused. They didn't even show up to graduation. In their family, there was no wizard competition because they were the last of their blood lines."

Jerry paused to give Alex a moment to let everything she was being told to sink in. He wanted her to understand it. Or at least as much as she could at eight years old.

"A few years after graduation Xander was offered a seat on the wizard council, which he also turned down. I'm not sure what happened over those years, but the wizard council got word that Xander and Karmine were involved in black magic. A very powerful black magic that threatened to drain the magic from the most powerful wizards. When the Wizard Police did a raid on their lair, they found you. Karmine and Xander were preparing you to be the innocent sacrifice they needed to complete a spell that would have shifted the moral compass for good. You were taken away and they Wizard Council sentenced your parents and all those involved to death."

Alex took in a deep breath but never let a tear fall. She wasn't the type to let people see her cry, even at such a young age. She looked from Jerry to Theresa and noticed that her mother had never stopped crying.

"Okay, so how did I end up here, with you?" she probed.

"Well, I had just turned my powers over to your Uncle Kelbo and Professor Crumbs brought you here at a year old and asked us to take you in. He knew that I was a good teacher and that since I no longer had powers then no one would ever expect that they would place you with me. They would have expected them to place you with a more powerful wizard family."

"When I looked into your big brown eyes," Theresa cut in, "I knew that you were the perfect addition to our family. There was no way I could turn him down."

"We talked to Crumbs and he agreed that in order for you to truly be a part of this family that the Russo family powers should be yours as well. He gifted them to you along with the right to fight for them when that time comes."

A long silence fell over the room. Jerry moved over to Alex and wrapped his arm around her.

"I don't understand, why are you telling me all this now? If Crumbs erased any memories from my previous parents then why would you tell me at all?"

"Well, there's one part I wanted to leave out until you were a little older. There was a prophecy and Crumbs believes it involves you and this family. 'From the heart of evil, a child is born, yet from them she must be torn and given to the family of love, it's where she belongs and together the greater evil they will rise above.'

"So I am part of some big prophecy now?"

"Well, you Justin and Max. "

"Okay, well this is a little much for one night."  
"Oh mija, we love you and we just want to protect you."

"I know mom." Alex thought a moment then made up her mind, "I love you guys and I want to continue to be a part of this family. But, dad, for some reason my place doesn't feel right. It never has. How do you know that I'm the baby from the prophecy or that I'm supposed to be your daughter."

"Because, you fit right here in our hearts."

Jerry and Theresa both hugged their daughter and she hugged them back. Justin slipped back out of the door of the lair, where he had been spying and hearing everything that had been said. Alex saw him out of the corner of her eye, but didn't say anything. She just hugged her 'parents'. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something in the prophecy wasn't right, but she was only eight. So, she let it go.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Eight Years Later

Alex walked in from school in her usual, "This day has taken every bit of energy I've had" mood and flopped down on the couch. Justin sat beside her and smiled. Alex looked over to him and knew that smile all to well. He was about to do something that was going to make her mad, and she would have no choice but to get even with him later.

"Hey kids, how was school?" Theresa asked.

"It was amazing mom." Justin answered with an all too perfect smile.

"Good. Hey isn't it time for report cards?"

With that Alex knew exactly what Justin was trying to pull. He would give them his once again perfect report card while Alex had nothing to offer but a bunch of barely passing grades, all thanks to Harper's studious behavior when it came to Alex's homework. She glared at Justin and mouthed, "don't do it."

He smiled, "Why yes mom, it is time for report cards. As a matter of fact, I have mine right here." Justin held it out proudly.

Theresa and Jerry looked over it and smiled as they always did, "Straight A's. Good job son." Jerry complimented.

"Good job? This is amazing," Theresa began her usual over the top bragging about Justin, "You are going to be something very rich and powerful one day. And there is no way you won't be valedictorian."

"Thanks mom." Justin smiled then looked to Alex.

"Alex, honey, where's your report card?"

"Oh, um Mr. Larritate didn't have mine ready. Some computer glitch."

"Oh, okay." Jerry accepted Alex's lie.

The smile on Justin's face let Alex know that he wasn't done with her yet though, "That's okay Alex. I stayed late and picked it up for you."

"No you didn't." Alex jumped up from the couch.

"Yeah, thought I'd be helpful."

Alex glared at him again. She tried to grab it from his hand, but he was quicker and he placed it on the counter, open, in front of Theresa. Jerry and Theresa both cringed at the comments section. They should have been use to Alex being referred to as lazy and "has potential, but just won't use it," by now but it still stung.

"Alexandra Russo." Was all Theresa could say.

"I know, I know. I'm grounded for two weeks." Alex said rolling her eyes and flipping her hair.

"Well she got that question right." Jerry joked.

Theresa smacked him on the shoulder and Alex didn't stick around to listen to the argument that ensued between them. Instead she grabbed her back pack and went up to her room. She shut her door and flopped down on her bed, using her wand to turn on her stereo. She looked at her ceiling and began to think of ways to get Justin back. Then her cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alex. This is Marc. Are we still on for tonight?"

"I don't think so Marc. My parents got my report card and I'm pretty much done for the next two weeks."

"Aw, but baby," Marc mocked a crying sound, "I miss you."

"Miss me? You just saw me at school an hour ago." Alex's voice turned sultry at that.

"Baby I miss you the second you start to walk away. Although, watching you walk away does have it's advantages. Come on Alex, I love you. Can't you sneak out? Just tonight."

Alex thought for a moment. Sure, Marc was no Dean, but that hadn't exactly ended well either. Marc seemed to really like her, even though he was extremely cheesy. Alex needed that. She needed to feel loved and lately the need for it had grown to a point that even she didn't understand. It was as if her heart was obsessed with finding the perfect guy. She was pretty sure that Marc wasn't it, but he was a good stepping stone she decided.

"Okay, okay, I'll sneak out. Meet me at the sub station outside at ten okay?"

"You got it babe."

With that Alex hung up. Pranking Justin was going to have to wait. Now, she had to find something to wear for her date. As she stood and walked over to her closet she heard her door creak, she turned to face it, then Justin walked in.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a serious look on his face.

"Breaking the rules. What are you gonna run and tell mommy and daddy?"

"Alex, you can't keep doing this ya know. Mom and Dad love you and they would flip out if they found out you snuck out. And what if something happened to you? It would kill them."

"Not as much as if it happened to you or Max I'm sure." Alex retorted.

"Don't say that, you know that's not true."

"And you know that it is."

Justin stood for a moment and it gave Alex a chance to think about what she had just said. Then she decided she didn't care. She knew that Justin knew the truth and it was time he brought it to the surface and lived with it just as she had been forced to.

"I don't know what you mean." Justin lied, which he had never been very good at.

"Oh, Justin," Alex began then pulled her wand out. She used it to shut her door then sound proof her room.

"What did you do that for?" Justin's curious eyes looked from the door to her wand.

"Because I don't want to risk Max having deal with something he doesn't have to right now. I saw you in the lair that day Justin. I know you know that I'm not really your sister. I know that you know about my real parents and that I'm supposed to be part of some prophecy."

Justin shook his head for a moment as if he was going to deny it, then decided against it. He had never thought about how much weight this had put on Alex, and now with the anger in her eyes, the lost look behind it, he could see that she had a lot more to bear than he expected.

"Okay, so I know about the prophecy. So what? That doesn't mean that mom and dad don't love you."

"What about you Justin? Do you love me? Can you honestly say that you would lay down your life for me just like you would for Max?" she asked, her eyes almost pleading now to belong.

Justin thought about that for a moment. The truth was, no. He had fought the feelings for a long time, but in truth he loved Alex in a way that wasn't like he loved Max. Since the day he found out she wasn't really his sister, he had never looked at her the same. They fought and he even tried to keep up the act by doing things that he knew would annoy her. In truth though, he had fallen in love with her. But, he couldn't tell her that. Not when she wanted so badly to belong to the family. He couldn't tell her that he could never love her like a sister, because he loved her as so much more.

"Yes," he decided.

"I don't believe you." Alex looked down at the floor and waved her wand up and the door opened, "I think you should go now."

Justin thought for a moment about telling Alex the truth. The hurt expression on her face made him want to pick her up and take her in his arms and hold her so tight. He wanted to run his hands through her black curls and let her know that she was loved, more than she could ever imagine. Instead, he turned around and walked out the door.

At ten Alex met Marc just as planned. She kissed him and then they set off on their date.

"So, what do you have planned for us tonight?" she asked.

"I figured we would go down to the park and just sit and talk."

That sounded innocent enough. Of course, to Alex it also sounded boring enough, reaffirming her earlier thought that he was nothing more than a stepping stone to finding what was missing in her life.

When they got to the park, Marc sat her down at the waters edge and pulled out a bottle of Bacardi 101. Maybe this wasn't going to be as boring as Alex thought it would be. She took a few drinks from the bottle and Marc polished it off. She was feeling a little tipsy. She could tell that Marc was drunk by the way his words were slurring and he was starting to get a little to handsy.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" he asked her brushing her hair from her face.

Alex didn't know what to say. She had been called beautiful before. Dean had told her that all the time, but once he had realized that she wasn't going to give him sex, he had changed his mind on that point. Alex just shook her head and smiled.

"Really, you are beautiful." He said.

He leaned in to kiss her and Alex kissed him back. He leaned on top of her causing her to lay back on the grass. They kissed for a while, but when he slid his hand up her shirt, Alex pulled away.

"Marc, I'm not ready for this." She said.

"Sure you are baby. It's been what, five months. You're ready as you'll ever be."

Marc then leaned down and began kissing her again. He slid his hand back up her shirt and shifted his weight on top of her making it hard for Alex to breathe. She tried to wriggle away, at least enough to reach down into her boot and get the wand she had there.

Marc leaned up and looked at her. His eyes were dark and he did something Alex didn't expect. He reached for the wand and slid it out of her boot, "Trying to get to this? I don't think you'll be needing it." Marc said and tossed the wand behind them.

Alex laid still, shock and fear showing in her expression. She tried to push Marc off of her but he was suddenly much stronger than he had been. "Did you think you were the only child taken away in the raid? You were just the only one who got a half decent family to replace the one they stole from you."

Alex was scared to the point of screaming now, but Marc waved his hand over her face and no sound came out. He hiked her skirt up then unbuckled his pants, "Oh, I've waited on this for so long."

He tore her pantees off and thrusted into her hard causing Alex to begin crying. He slapped her at that. She turned away from him and seeing her neck exposed he bit her, he didn't stop until he could taste her blood in his mouth. He thrusted so hard that she felt like she was being broken in half. He kept going harder and faster until finally he collapsed on top of her.

Marc rolled off of her and redid his pants. He stood up and walked over to Alex's wand, picked it up, then slid it back in her boot. Alex lay bleeding, crying, still no sound coming from her. Marc smiled at her.

"You think you have it so rough. Parents that ground you, that care about how you do in the competition. At least you didn't get stuck with a pair of wizards who don't even know how to cast time rewind spells. You belong with me Alex. Don't you ever get the feeling like you don't belong with those people?"

Alex turned her head, refusing to look him in the eyes.

"I know you do. That's because you don't . Our magic wasn't meant to be monitored by the council. Our magic was meant to go beyond what the council ever dreamed of doing. We were meant to change the world of wizardry. To be powerful among our people. That's what our parents wanted for us and that is what they were killed trying to give us. I am who you belong with Alex, whether you like it or not, and now I've taken the one thing from you that you can never give to another. I will always be a part of you because of tonight. You won't see me at school anymore, but don't worry, I'll pop in on you from time to time. Just to see how you are." He smirked and then began to walk away. Alex was crying even harder now.

"Oh and Alex," Marc said as he turned back to face her, he waved his hand in her direction and her sobs became audible, "Didn't anyone ever tell you to just say no."


	3. Chapter 3 A Shoulder to Cry On

Chapter Three:

Alex walked into her room and shut the door behind her. She had the urge to lock it, but ignored it. She couldn't believe what had just happened to her. This was like some bad after school special. Only her rapist was a wizard and she was part of some big conspiracy in the Wizard World that made no sense to her. She collapsed on her bed and did something she rarely did, cried.

She was sobbing so hard that she didn't hear her door creak open. She never heard him walking to her bed. It wasn't until he sat down beside her that she jumped.

"Justin, what do you want?" she angrily asked as she turned her head trying to wipe away any mark of her tears.

"I heard you come in. Then I heard you crying and I just wanted to check on you. Alex, what happened?"

Justin put his hand on Alex's shoulder and she jerked away from him as if his hand were flames. He knew something was wrong. She had never been like this before, afraid of his touch. He put his hand on his leg and studied her. He could see that her clothes were torn and noticed the faint beginning of a bruise on her face when she sat up, drawing her knees under her chin.

"What did he do?" Justin's anger was prevalent in his tone.

"Nothing, please, just leave me alone Justin." Alex cried putting her face in her hands.

"Alex, tell me. Please, I want to help. I can't stand to see you like this."

Alex could see hear the concern in Justin's voice. She looked up at him and saw an anger she had never seen before. His gray green eyes were turning so dark that the color was becoming hard to determine. She felt safe with him and right now that's all she really wanted, to feel safe.

"He," Alex began but couldn't bring her-self to say the words.

Justin opened his arms and she allowed him to pull her close to him. In his arms she felt a rush of warmth go through her body. She gave him a hard time, but when it came down to it she loved him. She truly loved him. She could never bring herself to tell him because she knew that he probably didn't feel the same way, but right now she wanted to pretend like she was just as important to him as he was to her. She needed to feel like someone actually cared about her for more than some prophecy or revenge. Especially after tonight.

"You don't have to say it," he said rubbing her hair, "He will never touch you again. I promise, I won't let him." Justin swore.

"You can't stop him. He's a wizard too. His parents were arrested and executed just like mine were. Justin, I'm scared." She admitted.

Justin pulled her tighter and rocked her. He had never heard Alex have such fear in her voice. She had never been scared of anything. Even when they were kids, she was always a dare-devil, always testing the limits. Now, she was shaking and crying and it infuriated Justin to the point that all he wanted to do was kill Marc.

"We should call the Wizard Police." Justin suggested.

"No, we can't do that. I can't do that." Alex's words were rushed and she pulled away from Justin, her brown eyes twice their normal size.

"Alex, we have to. The mortal police can't do anything to him. He'll just use a glamour to disguise himself or a spell to get out of it."

Alex continued shaking her head, "No, no Justin please don't make me! I don't want to tell mom and dad or anybody. I just want to take a shower and forget that he was ever near me."

Justin didn't want to leave it like that but Alex looked so afraid.

"Okay, okay. We won't tell. Go take a shower. I'll be right here when you get out."

Alex let the water run over her. She let the water wash away her tears and the disgust of Marc's smell off her. This wasn't how she wanted to lose her virginity. She wanted to give it away to someone she loved.

_"Like Justin."_ She thought but quickly shook the thought away. He wouldn't want her now. Nobody would.

She got out of the shower and wrapped the towel tightly around her. She looked in the mirror and wiped away the condensation. She had a definite bruise from where Marc had hit her. She let the towel drop and looked down at her body. She had bruises and marks all over. On her inner thighs she had perfect indentions of Marc's hands where he had forced her legs apart. She hadn't realized how violent he had been.

She put on her pajama's and walked out of the bathroom. She was about to walk into her room when she heard Justin talking to himself. She stood outside her door and listened.

"Why couldn't I be there to protect her? I knew not to let her go. God, why couldn't I be there? I love her so much. It's killing me to see her hurt like this," At this Alex noticed a glowing coming from her room, "_My true love he did scar,"_

"Justin, no. No spells." Alex said walking through her door.

Justin jumped at her voice. He dropped his wand on the floor and the glowing stopped. Alex walked over and picked it up. She held it out to him.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't know what else to do." Justin tried to explain.

"I know. I appreciate it." Alex said then laid on her bed.

Justin began to walk out but Alex called to him, "Justin, please don't leave me."

He stopped then turned around and walked back to her. He laid on the bed beside her and pulled her close to him. "Alex, I would never leave you."

They laid like that in the dark for a couple of hours. Justin rubbing Alex's hair and Alex trying not to think of all that had happened. Finally, before sleep had a chance to take over, she looked up at him.

"Justin, did you mean it when you called me your true love?"

Justin didn't know what to say. He looked down at her then back up to the wall. He reasoned in his head that he was caught saying the words and that denying them wouldn't really do him any good.

"Yeah. I did."

Alex squeezed him and said, "I love you too."


	4. Chapter 4 Dreams

Chapter Four: Dreams

Alex closed her eyes, finally feeling peaceful in Justin's arms and allowed herself to go to sleep. When she opened her eyes she saw nothing but darkness. She held her hand up for the ultimate test and it served true; she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. She was scared at first but then reasoned in her head that after the night she had, maybe having a dark nothing dream was the best thing for her.

Just as she began to relax, she heard footsteps. She would've turned around but knew that it would do no good. She wouldn't be able to see anything. Her anxious feeling returned and she stiffened in fear and curiousity. The feeling intensified when she felt the warm breath on her neck.

"Did you really think you could get away from me Alex?" Marc whispered.

Alex didn't move. Her body wouldn't allow her to. She just stood as a scared little girl wanting nothing more than to scream out, but who could hear her in her dreams. Then it hit her.

"Justin!" she screamed hoping that it would be audible through her sleeep.

"Aww, isn't that sweet. Justin is sleeping with you tonight huh? Save you from the big bad wizard? Scream all you want Alex, he can't hear you." Marc smirked.

"Justin!" she tried again, doing her best to make it loud enough that something audible had to get through.

"Justin, oh Justin..." Marc teased. "No, I don't think he's going to be coming to your rescue anytime soon. Did you tell him about me? Did you tell him that I marked your neck?"

When he asked that, Alex held her hand up to the spot Marc had bitten on her neck. With everything else that had happened she had forgotten about the bite. She began to wonder if that was what he meant by them being linked.

"Justin won't let you hurt me Marc. He loves me." Alex retorted.

"Loves you? Really? He doesn't love you Alex. He feels sorry for you. He is never going to want to touch you now. He can't love something so broken."

"You're wrong. He loves me." Alex argued.

"Get over it, Alex. He doesn't love you! I gauruntee you that he won't touch you now. Not now that he knows I've been there. You lost most of your appeal with that."

"Justin! JUSTIN!" she screamed again.

The last thing she heard was Marc laughing before she opened her eyes and saw Justin in front of her, his eyes full of concern. She could feel the tears running down her face and didn't even try to hide them. Instead she put her face on Justin's chest as he held her and rocked her.

"Baby, what's wrong? I'm here. I'm right here."

"He was there Justin. He was there in my dream."

"The dream helmet." Justin hissed.

Alex's sobs grew louder. Justin grabbed his wand, "No Justin no spells, I don't know what will work on him. He's powerful Justin. He didn't even need his wand to do the things he did to me." Alex blurted as she was trying to reach Justin's wand to take it from his hands.

"Okay, calm down. That's not what I'm doing okay. '_In this night no one should hear my loves tears but me, so soundproof this room and make it be.' _

"You sound proofed my room?"

"Yes and, '_We need time to sort through this mess so let sleep fall to all in this house until I release them from peaceful rest.'_

"Justin, you don't have to do this for me."

"Yes, I do Alex. I love you!"

"Do you Justin? Do you really love me?"

"Yes. Alex, I have loved you for a long time. I have thought about you every second of every day. All I've wanted was to hold you tight, be near you, be with you."

Alex looked down at her pillow. There were no lights on in the room. She looked back to Justin then kissed him passionately. He welcomed the kiss and didn't pull away when she slid her tongue in his mouth. However, when she slid her hands down his pajama pants, he pulled her hand back up and pulled away from her.

"No, Alex we can't do this."

"You don't want me?"

"Not like this, Alex. Not like this. I want it to be special and to be when you are emotionally stable enough to make this decision without regretting it." Justin explained.

"Justin, I'm fine. I just want to make love to you. Don't you want to make love to me?" Alex's eyes pleading.

"No, Alex. Not tonight. Tonight I just want to hold you."

Alex was so let down. She wasn't ready to believe that what Marc had told her was true. She let Justin pull her close to him and she nestled against him. Justin was just trying to do what he thought was right, wasn't he? Of course that was Justin. He always did the right thing. She got closer to him and was afraid to go to sleep and Justin could tell.

He picked up his wand again, '_Protect her mind, protect her dreams, give her peace by knowing that no matter what's in her sleep when she awakens she will be with me.'_

With that spell Alex leaned closer to Justin and fell asleep in his arms. Justin took in the scent of her hair and held her tight. Soon, he fell asleep as well. And they slept peacefully in each others arms through-out the night.


	5. Chapter 5 Back to Good

Chapter Five

When Alex awoke she was still in Justin's arms. She scooted up against him and breathed out. She hadn't slept that peacefully in such a long time. It was nice to know that someone did love her, even if it was for pity. Alex shook that thought from her head. She knew that Justin's love was true. He didn't have it in him to lie. To comfort her he wouldn't have went to such great lengths; lengths that they both knew could have horrible repercussions.

Alex's thoughts were broken by Justin's slow movements. He looked down at the angel in his arms. He had dreamed of waking up like this so many times. Of course, in his dreams it had been under better circumstances. That was when the thought of Marc and what he had done to Alex intruded on Justin's mind. He didn't care what Alex said, there had to be a way to stop him and if anybody could find it, it would be Justin Russo.

"Morning." Alex greeted as she squeezed Justin a little tighter.

"Good morning, beautiful." He replied with a smile kissing the top of her head.

"You don't have to do that, Justin." Alex whispered.

"Do what?"

"Call me beautiful." Alex sheepishly answered, refusing to look at him.

"Why wouldn't I?" Justin asked, confused.

"In my experience I'm only beautiful when a guy wants something from me. You don't have to give me compliments. I love you so much Justin, I would give you anything you wanted." Alex explained sadness overwhelming in her tone.

Justin couldn't believe what she had just said. It infuriated him to think of what those boys she was use to had her thinking. She had always seemed so strong, so confident. It was in that moment that Justin realized how low her self-esteem had been forced. Justin sat up and put his hand under Alex's chin and lifted her face up so that they were looking in each other's eyes.

"Alex, I think you're beautiful because you are. I would never say that just to get something from you. You deserve to be told you're beautiful every second of every day. I wish I could make you see that. I wish you could see what I see in you."

"What do you see in me?" Alex's eyes were pleading for something that she hoped Justin could give her.

"Well, you're an angel. Not the typical pop culture angel with the blond hair and blue eyes. You are the most beautiful angel there is. The one with soft black curls," he ran his fingers through her hair, "brown eyes that seem to hold the answers to all the mysteries in life. That's just on the outside. On the inside, you are strong, clever, smart, funny, and everything a man would want in a woman."

Justin's words touched a part of Alex's heart that she didn't even know existed anymore. She kissed him and he returned the passion behind it. The two of them pulled away and Alex was the first to get up.

"I guess we better get this day started. It's already ten and mom and dad will be wondering why they slept so late." Alex said.

"You're right. I guess I should go back to my room before undoing the spell." Justin told her.

Alex didn't want him to leave but she knew he was right. With everything else going on in their lives, they didn't need their parent's freaking out about their new found relationship. Justin went to leave but as he reached the door he stopped. He turned to Alex and pulled her in for another hug.

"No matter what happens, I am right here for you Alex, always. I love you and nothing could ever change that." Justin's words made Alex's whole body tingle and made her eyes water at the pureness of them.

"I love you too." She replied fighting back the tears.

With that said Justin walked out of her room. Alex knew when Justin had undone the spell because she heard Theresa start screaming at Jerry about not setting an alarm. It was Saturday; Alex never understood the point of an alarm on a Saturday. Of course, Alex didn't understand the point of an alarm when you had magical powers at all.

"I guess that's just one more way to prove I don't belong in this family." She said to herself.

In Justin's room he had started getting dressed. After all the time of wondering what it would be like to have Alex in his arms, he finally knew. It was Heaven on Earth. He wanted nothing more than to go out and proclaim to the world that he loved Alex. He knew he couldn't though. What would his parents think of him?

He was eighteen, a man. Alex was only sixteen. They had spent their whole lives trying to make them into siblings, something Justin was beginning to wonder if they were ever really supposed to be. He wanted to claim his love for her, but knew that now wasn't the right time. He was also afraid that Alex only felt the things she did because of her break-up with Dean followed by the horrible events with Marc. What if he was just a rebound? What if she just wanted someone to show her love and he just happened to be there?

Justin pulled his shirt over his head and cleared those thoughts from his mind. If there was one thing Alex wasn't good at, it was faking emotion, especially ones that concerned love. He finished getting dressed then walked down stairs where the rest of his family, with the exception of Alex, was already gathering to have breakfast.

"Hey, son." Jerry greeted.

"Good morning Dad."

"Max, why don't you go up and get Alex. Tell her breakfast is ready." Theresa said motioning toward the spiral stair case.

"I'll do it." Justin offered and turned back around.

When he got to Alex's room, he didn't knock. What could she possibly have to hide from him now? He walked over to her as she sat at her vanity, looking at something on her neck.

"What happened there?" Justin asked startling Alex.

"Nothing." Alex lied trying to cover the mark with her hair.

"Alex, this isn't nothing. That looks pretty bad." Justin said bending down to examine the bite closer.

"He just bit me. I don't know why. I guess it was some freaky boy thing." Alex tried to sound unconcerned.

Justin kissed the mark, replacing the sting that had been there with chills. "I won't let him hurt you again, Alex. I wish I could've been there."

"But you weren't and I want you to stop beating yourself up about that, Justin. I made the choice to sneak out with him. This was just a ramification of that choice. Don't blame yourself. It happened and now it's over." Alex prayed she was right about it being over.

Justin opened his mouth to argue with her, but at that time Max entered the room, "What's going on in here? Mom wants y'all downstairs." he asked feeling the seriousness in the atmosphere.

"Nothing. I was just telling her that breakfast was ready and she wanted help with a homework problem." Justin lied.

"Alex wanted help with a homework problem?" He asked tilting his head and raising an eyebrow, "Mhmm, and I'm the Queen of America." Max laughed as he walked out still mumbling things about Alex and homework.

"Well, I guess I messed that up." Justin said looking at Alex.

For the first time he saw a genuine smile on her face. "What?" he asked.

"I love how terrible at lying you are. It shows me that everything you say to me you truly mean."

"Of all the possible ways I could take that, I'm going with compliment. And my response dearest Alex is I will love you until the stars no longer shine."

"Oh get out Romeo. Tell Theresa, I mean mom, I'll be down in just a minute."

It wasn't often that Alex was thankful for Max's interruptions, but this had been one of those times. It had gotten Justin thinking of something other than the bite. The bite bothered her as well but, she didn't want Justin obsessing over it. For now, she just wanted to go down stairs and have breakfast with what was supposed to be her family and pretend that everything was back to normal.


End file.
